![]() Yet white teeth are also popularly considered an attractive feature, and indeed, the novel characterizes non-white individuals as intelligent, vivacious, and complex, combatting the negative stereotypes upheld by white characters like Mr. Hamilton tells the children that when he was in the Congo, “the only way could identify a nigger was by the whiteness of his teeth.” On one hand, white teeth-contrasted with dark skin-represent the vulnerability of non-white people: throughout the novel, the non-white characters experience prejudice and are confronted by racist microaggressions that draw attention to their status as outsiders in British society. Hamilton, an older and highly racist man in their neighborhood. Importantly, the titular reference to “white teeth” alludes to an early moment in the novel in which Irie, Millat, and Magid visit Mr. ![]() Not only do teeth factor into the novel’s title, they are also a recurrent symbol throughout the narrative, with several layers of symbolic significance. ![]()
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